Opposites Attract: A High School AU
by I-write-hurt-not-comfort
Summary: Modern day high school AU. When Kaneki's mother dies and he goes to live with his Uncle, he is forced into a new school. He is quickly picked up by a student, Lawliet, who's friend group openly welcomes Kaneki. He eventually discovers that these people are just as broken as he is. As time continues, the groups personal problems escalate, and Lawliet has to deal with it all. TWs!
1. Chapter 1

_**(A/N: This is my first crossover! With Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul being my two fav animes, I was disappointed at the lack of crossovers, and there is also a lack of Tokyo Ghoul high school AUs, so why not combine the two? Updates may not be very regular, as im in the middle of two other long running fanfics, but nevertheless, I'm quite proud of this. Also, I cant promise all the chapters being as long as this one, as it was sort of an introduction.**_

 _ **Finally, this fanfiction deals with mature topics, like drug use, self harm, alcoholism, addiction, abuse, violence, some yaoi I guess, so its rated M for a reason!**_

 _ **Please review! I wont update unless I know someones reading.**_

 _ **Disclaimer; I do not own death note or Tokyo ghoul, or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter One~**

Kaneki looked up and read the beaming white and blue sign above him.

 _'Wammy's High'_

He sighed. As much as he loved reading and learning, Kaneki never asked to move schools. It was the only option though, since now he was living with his Uncle Amon because his mother died. Walking cautiously past the gate, he approached the Student Services.

After a long, tedious talk with the head teacher about his situation, the school rules, and what the school was about, Kaneki finally left. He hoped to get at least a bit of a lesson before lunch, but no. Apparently, the school bell hated him, as the second he checked the time, the bell for lunch rang, and echoed through the hall.

Shortly after, loud footsteps and lively voices travelled through the corridor, and Kaneki panicked _. No_ , this was _not_ a good time. Gasping at the sudden outburst of people, he turned around and ran to the toilets, slamming the stall door shut and placing his head in his hands.

"No, no... why on the first day?..." Kaneki whispered to himself, crying slightly and chocking on sobs. "Stop it" he demanded to himself, wiping his eyes, but he continued to stay emotional.

He thought for a bit, then realised that he couldn't walk out a tear-filled mess. The tingly feeling crept up his arms. _No... not right here... that's.._. Kaneki halted his train of thought and took the small sharp object out of the inside pocket of his wallet. _Desperate times call for desperate measures_.

Rolling up his sleeves revealing all of the old and new scars, Kaneki hesitated for a bit before hastily slashing two cuts into his right arm. He hissed silently at the sharp pain before using a tissue to clean the blood up.

Feeling better but still nervous about the new school, the black haired teen managed to leave the toilets and proceeded to the field to find somewhere to sit in the shade and read. The chances of him actually making friends in a place like this were minimal, so he didn't even bother trying.

For about 10 minutes, Kaneki found tranquility in the shade and his book.

"Hello. You're new, aren't you?"

Kaneki jumped at the sudden interruption, and looked up to see a student with dishevelled black hair, grey eyes with huge black bags underneath them, bad posture and a baggy white long sleeved shirt.

"Sorry, I apologise if I scared you" the raven said, "I'm Lawliet."

"Uh, I'm, K-Kaneki"

"Really, you don't seem too sure" Lawliet chuckled.

"Oh."

"Anyway, i couldn't help but notice that you were here alone. Care to join me and my friends? We're very welcoming."

Kaneki froze and looked at them; they looked nice enough (and by that, he meant the type of friend group which were highly likely to be picked on in a high school.) "um... Okay, sure. Thank you, I appreciate it."

"No problem," Lawliet smiled weakly and guided Kaneki over to his friends. He stood before them, "Guys, this is Kaneki, he's new here. Please be friendly, he seems very intelligent"

There was a murmuring chorus of 'Hello's and 'nice-to-meet-you's before Kaneki sat down with Lawliet next to a blonde boy with headphones on.

"Hi Kaneki!" The boy exclaimed, excited by the new member of their group, "I'm Hide."

"Um. Hi."

"Hide is a great friend" Lawliet grinned, then leaned in closer to Kaneki and dropping his voice, "He is loyal. The only problem is, he can be a little... loud. And the headphones don't exactly help."

"Oh. Well, uh, thank you for telling me" Kaneki whispered back, then spoke up, "So, who are they?"

Kaneki was pointing to a girl in a white dress and purple hair, who was sitting in the lap of someone who looked exactly like Lawliet, but with flatter, more emo black hair and red eyes. He felt slightly uncomfortable watching the couple make out across from him.

"Oh." Lawliet grimaced as he noticed the two's daily lunch time make out session had just started, "The girl, that's Rize, and the guy is Beyond. They've been at it a year now, and this is not the worst they've done in front of us."

"Wow" Kaneki was astonished, "they, urrm... seem to be getting along very well"

"Hmm yes" Lawliet hummed to himself, "The girl is quite scene and Beyond is quite emo. They suit very well. They go to concerts a lot together."

"You and Beyond look very alike. Um, are you guys..."

"Yes" sighed Lawliet in defeat, "We're twins"

Kaneki continued to look around at the friend group when he spotted 3 guys, "So who are they? The one with the white hair looks a little too young for high school"

"Yes, you're right" Lawliet agreed, "That's Near, he's Matt's younger brother. He was in the first year, but he got moved up due to his abilities. Matt is the one smoking and Mello, the blonde, is his best friend."

"I thought smoking wasn't allowed on school premises" Kaneki thought out loud.

"No, it's not. But because we're settled at the back of the field, no one sees."

"Oh."

"Hey Kaneki" Lawliet said after a long pause of silence.

"Yes?" replied Kaneki.

"Why do you always seem so shy and nervous?" Lawliet asked, noting the sudden panicked look on the others face, "If you're not comfortable with answering that, it's fine, honestly."

"Um no, I'll answer" He thought for a bit, "But this is between us."

"Of course" Lawliet smiled at him, assuring him of his trust.

"Well, a month ago, my mother passed away." Kaneki clenched his jaw and tried his best not to cry at the thought of his mother. "My father left when I was young, and my mother was left alone. She worked day and night, and it took its toll." He had to pause, gritting his teeth harder as he tried so hard not to let the tears fall. Lawliet placed his hand on Kaneki's shoulder, then he finally continued "A month ago when she was working, she passed out. We took her to hospital, but... it was too late.I moved in with her brother, Amon. But, I uh, I got really depressed and I get social anxiety I guess."

"Wow" Lawliet was stunned, "I'm sorry to hear that. I never knew you'd been through so much."

"Yeah. It's not you're fault."

"Well, not to sound too depressing, but you'll fit in very well here. Nishiki's parents ran away, and he moved in with Touka and her twin Ayato, who hates them. Their parents are dead. Touka has been his best friend since junior high, even though they argue a lot. They're not going out, yet, but we think they will."

"That's awful"

"It all is here. But we have each other." Lawliet looked at the ground. "Uh, me and Beyond, our father is an addict and mother died in a train crash. His girlfriend Rize, she has to live alone. Her parents work away. Finally, Mello, Matt and Near all live together in an orphanage. Mello's parents were killed in a fire, and Matt and Near escaped an abusive household."

"Oh my god, I didn't realise" Kaneki spoke softly, looking at all the broke souls ahead of him. Maybe he did fit in here after all. "So, what happened to Hide?"

"Nothing. He's the luckiest. But, in some ways, he's the happiness and social glue which holds us all together." Lawliet smiled at him, never once removing his eyes from Hide, "He's always there for you, through everything."

"He sounds great" Kaneki stared at the blond boy and smiled. He already felt the happiest he had in ages, probably since _it_ happened, and that was because someone was there for him.

Maybe moving schools wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Kaneki and Lawliet got on well for the next half an hour. For the first time in a while, he actually felt _slightly_ happy.

That was until he noticed four other guys walking over to the group.

They looked like trouble. One had dark black long hair and glasses, wearing all black and standing at the back with a slightly shorter boy with short black hair and an untucked white shirt. In front of them stood a guy with long-ish indigo hair and dark clothes, looking tough. The one who struck Kaneki as the 'leader' of this gang was wearing very smart fitted clothes and had neat brown hair. He looked like a genius groomed for success on the outside, but his face said murder.

"So" the 'leader' said harshly, looking Kaneki up and down making him nervous, "You retards managed to recruit a new member I see? I'm Light, by the way. Light Yagami"

"He'll fit in well," the purple haired one stated, then turned to the other two behind, "Mikami, Gevanni, how much attention do you think we'll attract from beating up this pathetic loser on it's first day"

Kaneki gulped. _Beaten up? No, please no_.

Before any more trouble erupted, Touka stood up, rolling her eyes, and walked over to her brother.

"Ayato" she stated firmly, glaring at the purple haired boy with a fiery gaze, "Stop this."

"Why should I?" he scoffed back.

"For gods sake Ayato not again. You reek of alcohol. You're pissed aren't you?"

"Fuck off Touka" he replied harshly, pushing her back, "Not now okay?"

"Like hell with that!" She yelled, "You've got a problem Ayato, just admit it! If mom could see you now she's truly be ashamed! Get help!" Touka was closed to tears, she hated having to shout at her brother, "I want the old Ayato back!"

He felt guilty. Not because he threatened to hurt the new kid, but because he was hurting Touka. Nevertheless, those emotions hadn't even reached his conscience as he threw a punch at her, only to be stopped by a wrist clothed by a brown sweater.

"Don't"

"Nishiki, you have no authority over me, got it?" he spat at the smaller boy in front of him, trying to stop him, "I'm the one who pays the fucking bills for you to live in my god damn house, so don't fuck with me"

Nishiki scoffed and walked away, taking a tear filled Touka away with him by the hand and returned to their original spot on the grass to try and comfort her.

"Yagami Light" Lawliet said calmly, "I think that it would be best if you were to leave now. I would not appreciate you hurting anyone else here." He lowered his head, and Hide lightly rubbed him on the back, feeling sorry for the fact that Lawliet had to deal with everyone, "As you know by now, we all have our own problems. Let's not create more.

Light hesitated for a moment before turning around and walking away silently, the other three allies following him like his servants.

"I'm sorry Kaneki" Lawliet looked to see a frightened Kaneki, who seemed to be looking down at the sleeves on his wrists, "I know you were not comfortable in that situation. This happens a lot though, and there's not much I can do to help."

Kaneki sniffed, "I- I understand"

The friend group had fallen into an awkward silence, despite this not being usual for anyone but Kaneki. He wasn't used to this.

But then it hit him.

These people around him.

They were all broken.

Like him.

He was far from happy, but he finally,

Finally,

Kaneki had found somewhere he belonged.

He'd already witnessed one of their personal issues with his own eyes. The torture had been right in front of him so much.

It hurt him, as much as it filled him with the desire to help them.

They had each other, and Kaneki had someone to be there for him.

Surely that meant it would be ok, right?

At least, for now.


	2. Chapter 2

_**(A/N: And im back with chapter 2! Ive been writing this for ages now, working at the speed of one sentence a day... I know, im lazy. Thank you very much to my two followers. I updated because I knew that someone was reading. Anyway, the dark themes continue in this one, focusing on Ayato's alcohol problem. Each chapter will focus on a couple to 3 peoples problems (and yes, its going to be a very depressing fic, so if you don't like that kind of thing, don't read). Next chapter will be mainly death note characters, then after that probably a mix.**_

 _ **Remember to review, I wont update unless I know someone is reading.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Two~**

The bell rang at 3pm signalling for everyone to go home.

"See you tomorrow" Lawliet told Kaneki and the rest of his friends, who were still packing up after maths, then left the room with Beyond following.

For a brief second, Kaneki noticed that Beyond look slightly flushed and shaky and considered asking if he was okay, but brushed it off when he heard Touka and Nishiki talking behind him.

"Are you sure Ayato isn't coming back till later?" Nishiki asked, slightly worried about what might happen when they returned home after today.

"No." she informed him, "He's got a detention with his current teacher, so unless he kills her, we should be okay."

He chuckled nervously, "OK, let's get going then."

Kaneki smiled weakly; it was fascinating how people in such difficult situations could find happiness somehow. But nevertheless, he had to run home, or else his Uncle would worry. Amon was great and everything, but overly protective. However, Kankei had just lost his mother after all.

...

Touka and Nishiki walked up to the door of the small and wrecked house in the run-down part of town.

"What time is Ayato back again?" asked Nishiki, turning the handle for Touka and letting them in.

"Um, well, the detention is 1 hour. But he'll probably stop with Light on the way back to get some booze." Touka replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"What did he do this time, if I may ask?"

"He and Light got caught smoking in the toilets."

"Ah. Right. What's that, the third time now?"

"Be serious" she said, nudging him on the arm. "I hate you."

"Yeh, I know you do" Nishiki mocked, the two sitting on the sofa and taking their notes out.

"You get all the notes for English?" Nishiki asked, flipping through his folder.

"Uh, no I kinda fell asleep in class..."

"Again?"

"..."

"Was it _that_ again?" he asked her concerned.

"Yeh. Ayato had Light and Gevanni over till about 3, just drinking." Touka told him, fighting back tears, "I want to get him help, honestly I do, I want the _old_ Ayato back. But... he won't help me help him."

"You have to _try_."

"I will."

...

The two had finished revising a while ago, and were now watching Supernatural.

"I can't believe you've never seen this episode before." Touka said to Nishiki, stuffing her mouth with popcorn, "It's like the fourth episode."

"I know I know," Nishiki threw his arms up jokingly in surrender; "I'm the supernatural fan who skipped ahead to season 4."

"What the hell! Season 1 is liked he classic Sam and Dean episodes!"

"I can see now," he added, turning his attention back to the TV, "I mean wow, who would've thought you could perform an exorcism on a plane."

Touka laughed back and lulled her head onto his shoulder subtlety, avoiding a reaction. It continued like that for a while.

"It's funny how Sam and Dean always save each other's lives..."

"Cut the sentimental crap Nishiki, it's not like you" Touka replied, and he frowned back, "I know what you're thinking, but let's not think about that now, kay?" He nodded back.

1 minute later, Touka noticed the lock on the door click and the door was slammed open.

"I wonder who that could be?" Nishiki whispered sarcastically, receiving a glare from Touka. Nevertheless, she didn't dwell on that for too long before sitting up straight and uncurling herself from Nishiki's shoulder.

"What the fuck is that scrawny little shit doing here?" Ayato asked harshly, throwing his bag on the floor and fishing around in his pockets for his cigarettes.

"... I live here?" he replied nervously.

Ayato lit the cigarette which was now between his lips and took a long drag, "Still? For fucks sake, can't you get a fucking job or something," he breathed out, "Lazy shit."

"Hang on" Touka jumped in defensively, "I earn the same amount of money as you do, and that's enough to afford food, the bills and the rent on this crappy house."

"Then why do we always have problems with money huh?" Ayato scoffed, taking another long drag of smoke.

"Because you spend all of your money on booze and cigarettes!"

"Tch." he was speechless. _How was he supposed to come back to that_? "I'm getting a drink."

"Fine" Touka sighed heavily and flopped down onto the sofa, "And if you're gonna smoke, please go outside."

"Nope!" He called back, pulling out a bottle of vodka and drinking straight from the rim of the bottle.

"He's gonna be up all night you know" Touka turned to the brunette.

"Might be a good idea to speak to him about this when he's sobered up then?" Nishiki suggested.

"Who said he was gonna be 'sobered up'?"

"Nothing." he shook off that thought, "But if it makes it easier, I can probably call Hide and sleep at his."

"You sure that's okay?" Touka asked, raising her eyebrow slightly.

"Of course" he flipped open his phone and dialled Hide's number.

...

Hide was lying on his bed texting Kaneki.

 _U like the new school so far?_

 _Kaneki: Who is this?_

 _Oh, soz, i 4got 2 tell u this was Hide ;) Lawliet gave me ur no._

 _Kaneki: I'm sorry, I find it difficult to understand your text talk..._

 _Soz, cant help it_

Before he got a reply from Kaneki, his phone began ringing, displaying _'Nishio'_

"Yo Nishiki! What up?" he answered through the phone. "You're having problems with Ayato again?" Hide listened, his smile fading, "Mhm, mhm, yep. Of course, yeh. Come over when you need, I'll set up the airbed. Yep, no problem man, thanks, bye."

Hide hung up and placed his phone on the desk in front of him, "I hope Touka's okay."

….

Nishiki closed his phone and stood up. "Hide said its okay, so I'm gonna head over there soon. You sure you'll be okay here?" he asked Touka, a hint of concern in the question.

"I'll be fine" she lied, "Besides, I've got the 5pm-11pm shift at Anteiku, so by the time I get back, he should've passed out."

"Good thinking" Nishiki waved goodbye and left, leaving Touka to get ready to work. She checked her watch, _4:30pm._ Before getting changed into the uniform, she took a deep breath and went to speak to Ayato. She found him sitting out in the tiny garden, smoking his probably third cigarette and drinking canned beer.

"Uh, Ayato?" she called to him.

"Yeh, what?" he replied rudely.

"I uh, I'm working tonight till 11pm" she hesitated, "When's your next shift at Anteiku?"

"Pfft, I don't fucking know… I think I have the afternoon shift of 3pm-9pm tomorrow."

"You're lucky they haven't fired you yet."

"At least I don't turn up drunk…" Ayato threw back aggressively.

"No… I guess not… I'm gonna go now." And with that, Touka left.

….

When Touka returned, she was surprised to find that Ayato wasn't passed out on the floor or watching TV. Instead, after a brief search for him, she found him kneeling in front of the toilet, breathing heavily. The room didn't smell like vomit or bleach, so she presumed he was here just for a precaution.

"Hey, you feel okay?" she asked him soothingly, calmly walking over to him and kneeling down next to him. He shook his head sheepishly. "How long have you been here?"

"About…" he started taking short and shallow breaths as another strong wave of nausea overtook him, "… 15… minutes"

Touka was silent for a bit, wondering how she could help. _Maybe I could take advantage of the situation…_ she thought, _I mean, he'll be a bit less drunk when it's all out his system._

"Oh god…" he groaned, and edged closer to the bowl, placing one arm around the rim and one over his mouth. Touka wanted to help, and so pulled the hair from his face and began rubbing circles on his neck when he began retching.

He was being violently sick for about 5 minutes, and Touka was forced to involuntarily grimace at the sounds as she continued comforting him. Eventually, it died down to just dry heaving, and she stood up, filling a glass with water and passing it to him. When he was sure it was all out, he collapsed back onto the wall, body shaking and eyes struggling to hold back the tears.

"Thank you" he muttered to Touka, sipping from the water, internally wishing it was something else, "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay."

"… Okay, so its not okay, because that's the fifth time this month that you've thrown up from drinking too much." She paused, and took a deep breath. "Ayato… I want to get you help."

"Hmph." He sighed.

"Please?"

"No."

" _Please?_ "

"Alright, fine"

"Thank you" she failed to keep that single tear in her eye as it fell. Ayato felt guilty for making her cry, and leaned up, taking her into a loose but comforting hug. Even in his slightly drunken haze, even _he_ knew that help was probably the best option.

Help.

Because isn't that what everyone needs?

 ** _(P.s. I want to add Juuzou into this fic somehow, but I cant figure out how. If anyone has any ideas, please PM me or drop a review. Thanks for reading!)_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_(A/N: Here's chapter 3. We are still on the Ayato and Touka story line, but Lawliet and Beyond's is hinted at in this as well and Matt and Near. After this chapter, there will be one more chapter of Touka and Ayato which the end merges into Matt and Near's storyline. But for now, enjoy!_**

 ** _Also, I want to say a massive thank you to GraySkies99 who replied to the message at the end of chapter 2 and gave me some amazing ideas, some of which are in this chapter. The others regard to how Juuzou comes in, and he will be there in the next chapter._**

 ** _Remember to review, I wont update unless I know someone is reading._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the character.)_**

 **~Chapter Three~**

"Ayato! Up! Now!" Touka yelled, giving her twin a swift kick in the ribs, "You start therapy at 10. And you promised you'd go."

"Urghhhh" he groaned, clutching at his head. "When did I promise this?"

"3 days ago."

"But it's Saturdayyyyy" he whined, sounding very childish.

"You went out and got drunk last night, didn't you?"

"..."

"Prick." she walked away from his bed, and began rummaging through his draws, "Do you own anything even remotely smart? Something that doesn't make you look homeless?"

"... No"

Touka sighed and finally found a pair of skinny jeans that only had one rip in them and a decent black shirt.

"Do you seriously expect me to wear that?" he scoffed, standing up wearily.

"Yes." she answered, "You might at least look like a half decent human."

"Fuck you." Ayato spat, walking over to the clothes and getting dressed slowly. "How am I getting there?"

"You could walk?" she suggested sarcastically, at which he frowned, "Nah, I'll drive you. Lawliet's letting me borrow his car, since you destroyed ours. It's about a half an hour drive, so we're leaving in a bit."

"Alright alright," he sighed in defeat, then headed towards the back door, "Just let me have a cigarette first."

"Five minutes!" she yelled after him.

"FUCK!" Ayato shouted as he reached the kitchen and found his packet of cigarettes empty.

"What is it?" Touka asked, irritated by his attitude.

"I'm out."

"Poor you"

"Seriously," he sulked, pissed off at her lack of sympathy, "We're stopping on the way there."

"Only if we leave now. We'll be late otherwise."

"Alright!" he yelled, throwing his arms up, "Just shut up now."

Rolling her eyes at his temper without nicotine, she followed him out the door and they headed down the road to Lawliet's house. Most of their friends live in the same area of town (it wasn't a particularly nice area), so the walked wasn't long. Once they found the house, she texted Lawliet to let him know they were outside.

"Hello" Lawliet greeted, scratching the hair at the back of his head. He was still in his pyjamas, but obviously hadn't slept. He held out the keys to her.

"Thanks." Touka said, taking them, "How is Beyond and your dad?"

"Hmm," Lawliet thought for a second, "Well, Beyond is sick and we don't know why, and dad is, well, spending all his money on Methadone and Valium"

"Geez, sorry"

"Nah, not your fault" Lawliet smiled slightly, "He's still got his job. Anyway, it's good that you're finally getting Ayato help."

He scoffed, trying to pretend he didn't hear that.

"Ayato, be nice" Touka warned her twin, pushing him into the car. "Thanks again."

"No problem," he waved good bye, walking back towards the house, "Good luck."

...

After a tedious drive, Touka and Ayato finally arrived at the treatment centre.

 _'Kiyomi Therapy Centre'_

"Be good." she began the lecture, "Imma take you in, sign you in, and wait outside for your first session, don't lie and at least act like you want help. Kay?"

"Hmph" he grunted.

They got out the car and headed to the reception desk. Touka was surprised to see Near sitting behind the desk in a white shirt and tight blue dress pants. "Near? What are you doing here?"

"I work here." He replied simply, continuing to doodle on a piece of scrap paper, "I'm still 16, I'm only one year below you guys. I had to work somewhere, considering me and Matt are alone, so why not here? Apparently being 'unemotional' is good for working at the reception in a therapy centre."

"Oh..." Touka said, shocked, "Why does your name tag say 'Nate River'?"

Near sighed, "Did it never occur to you that 'Near' is not my real name?"

"No..." She replied, "Well, I'm here to sign in Ayato."

"Room 5, uhh..." Near scanned the list on the computer screen, "... Dr. Matsuda, oh god" he scoffed sarcastically, "Good luck with him."

"Couldn't you have given him a better therapist?" Touka asked, watching Ayato head down the hall to the room.

"It's not in my control." Near replied bluntly.

"Right. Okay. I'll just wait out here till he's done."

"You'll be there a while..."

...

Standing outside the room brightly labelled 'Room 5', Ayato knocked nervously on the door.

"Come in!" a cheery voice called. Hesitantly, he walked in, "Welcome, Mr Kirishima. I'm Matsuda."

Ayato sat down on the chair opposite the guys desk, pulling one leg over the other, feeling nervous and slightly nauseous. _Therapy with a hangover_ he thought, _yippee_.

"So," Matsuda flipped open his notebook and readied his pen, "How are you, Mr Kirishima?"

"It's just Ayato" he corrected the man bitterly.

"Sorry, Ayato. How are you feeling today?"

"Like shit."

Matsuda frowned and scribbled something down onto his notebook. Ayato started at floor, feeling sick and pissed off. He was _not_ in the mood to be psycho-analysed.

"Why is that, Ayato?"

"Last night" he muttered.

"What happened last night?" _Shut up_.

"I went out."

"Doing what, exactly?" _If you keep pressing me for information I will throw up._

Ayato pursed his lips, sulking even more, "Drinking."

"Right." Matsuda started scribbling in his notebook again, "Well, clearly you aren't in a good condition," _stating the fucking obvious_ "So I'm going to do a simple health check."

"Whatever" Ayato groaned. He still felt queasy and didn't want to be there. All he wanted to do was go home and drink.

Matsuda was quick to notice that Ayato was shaking, "Ayato? Are you okay?"

He quickly snapped out of it, but couldn't stop shaking, "Oh yeh, sorry." _I just really need drink and a goddam smoke_ he mentally added.

Matsuda looked at him curiously, but continued anyway. It went fairly smoothing until the stethoscope was pressed up to his chest.

"Hmm" Matsuda hummed in disapproval, "Your breathing is irregular. Do you smoke?"

"..." He didn't want to answer, it would just making him crave it even more.

"I need to know this if we're going to continue."

"Fine" he sulked again, "Yes, I do."

"How much?"

"Like, one, or two maybe."

Matsuda faced him with a questioning look, "It seems like maybe more than that."

"Packs" Ayato muttered sheepishly, "One or two packs. There, I said it, happy now?"

"Happy you told me the truth, yes. However I'm not happy about the truth. I'm going to check your throat for any inflammation." He took the throat gag and Ayato reluctantly opened his mouth.

The second it pushed his tongue back Ayato gagged and flinched, pushing the stick away and covering his mouth. _Oh god, not again._

Before Matsuda could attempt to ask what was wrong, Ayato wretched, emptying his very small stomach contents on the floor and slightly on the others shoes.

Whether it was because of the hangover of the withdrawal he couldn't tell. All he knew was that it was not healthy. Eventually, there was nothing but dry heaving. Matsuda sent a message to Nate in the reception.

...

Meanwhile in the reception, Near and Touka were talking casually, since the room was empty but them and two others.

"Oh" Near sighed, reading the signal from Matsuda, "Dr. Matsuda has requested family contact. Ayato is apparently throwing up all over the floor... You better go in there."

"Fuckkk" Touka whined. "He's never gonna get better, especially if I force him off alcohol cold turkey."

"Maybe you should try group therapy?" Near suggested, then gestured to the two patients waiting, "There's one starting today at 3 to 5pm. Each member gets an individual check up first. That's why they're here. It's one for 16 to 18 year olds. It's new. It might be better."

"Really?" Touka perked up with a bit of hope, "You can arrange that with this little notice?"

"Of course." Near smiled.

"Thank you."

...

"Ayato, what happened in there?" Touka asked, cleaning him up in the first aid room.

He let out a shaky breath, a couple of tears showing pain and humiliation fell, "I don't know, he pushed the gag thingy in my mouth and it just fucking... I don't know."

"Well, clearly individual therapy doesn't work. You feeling better?"

"No" he failed to fight back tears, "It fucking hurts."

"What hurts?" She asked, concerned.

"J-just..."

"Just?"

"Everything." He breathed another unsteady breath, shaking, "I can't do it Touka. I can't stop it. I can't I just can't."

"You can." She said soothingly, acknowledging the agony he must be in. "Come on. You've got a group therapy session at 4pm."

"Really? Fucking really?"

"Relax, there's only two others," she tried calming him, "Now, I'll take you out, we'll go get lunch, you can have one weak drink just to ease the withdrawal, then we're coming back here. Okay?"

"Alright."

"Great." They left the centre and headed outside, where Ayato finally got to have a cigarette.

"So who are they others?" he asked.

"They're in there," the gestured to the centre, "Juuzou and Uta."


	4. Chapter 4

**_(A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. I actually had this written over a week ago on my phone but I didn't have my laptop on holiday with me. I'm about halfway into writing the next chapter now. This is the last chapter of the Ayato and Touka storyline. It lasted 3 chapters I guess, and now we're moving on to another one! This will probably only last a chapter or two like most of them, since there's not much I can do with them. This is also quite long for me._**

 ** _Please remember to review and PM me if you have any ideas._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Four~**

DN x TG fanfic 4

"So," Ayato took a sip of the stupidly weak beer Touka had bought him, then crossed his arms on the cafe table and dropped his head on them, "Tell me more about this group therapy shit."

"I haven't been told much either you know," she replied, "It was for 'Self destructive behaviour' apparently."

"Whyy?" Ayato groaned, turning his head to the side slightly to glare at his twin with one eye open, "I am _not_ self destructive."

"Haha! Bullshit!" Touka mocked, "Ayato, you drink and smoke so much that you're damaging your health by puking every few days. That's pretty self destructive."

"Tsk. Fuck off." he laid his head back in his arms, refusing to look at her.

"You're getting this help because you need it."

It went silent. Around 5 minutes later, Touka noticed that Ayato was shaking, and a few muffled sobs came along with that. _Was he crying?_

"Ayato?" She was concerned, to say the least. Pulling his head up by his hair, she noticed how his eyes were red and there was a large wet patch on his sleeves. He continued look down at his arms, not once looking up as tears fell uncontrollably down his face. "You okay?"

"Do I fucking _look_ okay to you?" he spat, yanking his hair from her now loose grip.

"No. I guess not."

"Thank you." Ayato dropped his head back into his arms, and continued crying.

"Ayato, seriously." She was worried. The way Touka had always seen it, Ayato was strong. That facade had undoubtedly faded over the past few months though, "What's up?"

"I just," he raised his head and looked up at her for the first time in a while, wiping his eyes dry with the wet sleeves. Touka noted how his eyes were filled with nothing but pain and desperation. He struggled to speak.

"Just what?"

"I just, I just can't fucking do this! Seriously," Ayato's hand flew to his forehead, holding his headache and covering the shame on his face.

"It's alright," Touka tried to calm him, "It was always going to be hard, but you just need to calm-"

"Calm down? You want me to fucking _calm down_? Nah, fuck this shit okay? I can't do it I swear I can't do it please just stop this, stop everything, the pain, the withdrawals. I can't do it I just can't do this anymore."

"Ayato it's okay."

"Tch, easy for you to say," he snapped, more desperate tears came as he tried to slow his breathing, "It's always been okay for you. Dad loved you. You always did well in school, had good friends, did good things, and even when he died, you _still_ did the right thing, you've _still_ got good friends. What did I ever fucking do? Get shitty dumbass friends like Light and Gevanni, get smashed every night to the point where I'm struggling to fucking go 6 hours without a fucking drink or smoke! I'm a fucking _failure_. I don't _want_ to get better. I _can't_ get better. Fuck it. I'm gonna be honest here. All I wanna do is go home, get completely shit faced and throw it up. You wanna know why, Touka? It's because I deserve all this shit. All my life I've been nothing but a fucking waste of space. I can't do this!"

Touka was speechless, and his head was back down on table. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Maybe he was right, maybe he couldn't do it.

"Yes" she finally spoke after 10 minutes of painful silence. "You can do this."

"No I can't" he groaned, his breathing shallow now.

"Yes you can, you just have to try."

"No I can't."

"Yes you can."

"No I can't!"

"Ayato, trust me, you can."

"No-"

"Yes, you can."

Ayato was silent for a second, his breathing heavy, his head shot up and he quickly stood up, "I'm gonna be sick."

Touka watched him hastily proceed to the toilets at the back on the diner. About 5 minutes later, he stumbled wearily out of the room, slumping back into his chair looking pale and flushed.

"I don't think this is normal."

"Yes it is" he moaned, head once again falling into his arms, "It's called withdrawal, and it's a bitch."

"If you say so..."

...

"Welcome back Touka" Near greeted, his tone duller than it had been earlier.

"Hey Near." She said, walking over to the desk and Ayato dropped into one of the chairs. "Can he join them yet?"

"Almost. Their session started at 3, but I said it would be easier for Ayato to join in about an hour later. It's just a case of the fact that the first hour is just paper work and explaining how it will work. But if Ayato wasn't up for it, he didn't have to."

"Right. I'll wait till they're ready."

Before Near could reply, an email came through on his computer, "Ah, no need, Yomo is ready."

Touka nodded and walked over to Ayato, "They're ready for you. You gonna be okay?"

"I sincerely hope so." he replied nervously, getting up and heading to the room labelled _'Group Therapy Sessions.'_

...

"We are expecting another participant shortly," Yomo told the two young adults, "His name is Ayato Kirishima. I know this first hour has been boring but it was required. Once he arrives, we will begin."

"But how come he didn't have to sit through the boring stuff and we had to?" Juuzou whined, playing with the stitches on his left arm.

"He hasn't been well this morning, but we are all here together now, getting the help needed." Yomo informed them.

"What's this guys problem?" Uta asked.

"I'm not on the position to tell you, but once he comes in, you should find out."

Before Juuzou or Uta had time to protest more, there was a quiet and hesitant knock on the door. The two of them look outside the door window to see an indigo haired teen, at most 16, lingering behind the door nervously, arms crossed. Yomo stood up and approached the door, opening it and welcoming Ayato.

"Sit down Ayato" Yomo gestures towards the chair situated to the left of Juuzou on the end, "We may began."

Ayato only nodded and then slowly sat himself down next to a guy (or girl?... he couldn't quite tell) who had shoulder length bleached hair, stitches covering one arm and a sleeve covering the other, and a bow tie. He looked about 16, a year younger than himself.

He briefly glanced over to the guy to the right of Juuzou, trying to reassure his mind that he was not in an insane asylum. This guy was dressed in black jeans with a black hoodie hanging off of his shoulders. He was covered in tattoos and piercings, with black hair half shaved and swept to the side. He had quite the look.

"Now" Yomo started, interrupting Ayato's chain of thoughts. "The best way to start this is to each explain why we are here. This is without any prompt, so I want to understand how much you three understand about yourselves. Uta," he gestured to Uta on the end, "begin for us."

"Certainly" the black haired teen replied. His voice was soft. "My name is Uta, I'm 18. I dropped out of school when I was 16 because I didn't like it. I went into work straight away, as my parents kicked me out once they found out I'd been using crack. Ever since then I'd been living in a shitty flat getting high off everything under the sun. I got sent to a crappy rehab centre, and now here because I'm supposed to get help." he paused, staring blankly up at the ceiling, "That's it, I guess."

The whole time Yomo had been scribbling notes onto a clipboard, listening and observing intently to every word Uta had spoken _. At least he's better than Matsuda..._ Ayato thought to himself, then smirked inwardly.

"Thank you, Uta. Now Juuzou, if you may."

"Sure sure Renji!" he cheered, and Ayato struggled to tell if it was discreet sarcasm or not, "Ma names Juuzou Suzuya, I'm 16 and I moved here from Orlando about 3 months ago. I was supposed to go to 'Wammy's High' buuuttttttt apparently my behaviour was... _Dangerous._ My mum tried sending me to therapy after I'd attempted suicide twice. They tried to blame it on my psychosis, but I just thought it was my time to go. Anyway, as you can see, I got a little thing for the whole 'self mutilation' business, sooo I guess that's why I'm here. But I don't need help, I've just gotta make mama happy."

"Thank you."

Ayato sat quietly, shaking again. He failed to listen to most of Juuzou's story, as the nerves of having to explain his "problems" to a bunch of strangers was catching up.

All he picked out was "Wammys High", "dangerous behaviours" and "self mutilation."

 _Enough to draw a conclusion from_ he thought, gazing at the floor trying to make the world just stop.

"Ayato, I believe it's your turn," Yomo faced him expectantly, pen ready on the clipboard.

"I- I- uh" he stuttered. _How the hell was he supposed to start this?_

"Ayato, just breathe," Yomo tried to calm him, "Relax. I know this is hard for you, and I know you're not feeling too great, but the others did it so you need to as well. Start with the basics."

"O-ok" Ayato gulped, then a wave of nausea hit him, making him wrap an arm around his torso, "But- uh, c-can you excuse me f-for a m-minute first?"

Yomo knew what was going on, "Of course," he stood up quickly and opened the door, "Bathrooms just slightly down the hall on the right, you gonna make it?"

Ayato could only nod slightly before leaping out of his seat and running down the corridor.

"What was that about?" Juuzou asked curiously, tugging at his stitches again.

"I don't want to tell you much, but he is currently going through some pretty strong withdrawal."

"Should I go help him?" Uta proposed, "I only know too much about withdrawal."

"If you insist," Yomo waved him off, and he got up and left.

...

Ayato had barely reached the bathroom before doubling over on the floor and retching through the hand placed over his mouth.

"M-must... get... to... ughh" he panted, trying to react the toilet in time. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and emptied the acid from his stomach all over the floor.

Once he was halfway done, he distantly felt somebodies delicate fingers pull his hair from his face. Only when he was done heaving did Ayato turn his head slightly to see Uta crouched down behind him.

"Thank you" he whispered, collapsing side ways onto the bathroom floor, narrowly missing his own vomit.

"No problem." Uta replied calmly, rubbing the others back, "I can't tell what you're addicted to, but whatever it is, you must be in pretty deep. This is harsh withdrawal. Do you mind telling me."

"A-alcohol."

"Anything else? You're shaking a lot."

"Well," he panted, sitting up, "I smoke cigarettes, like, a lot, and I've only had one today, so that just making me feel even shittier."

"I see" Uta paused, "I feel like you can explain to Yomo and Juuzou everything you just told me. Yomo won't judge, and Juuzou is more broken than he appears."

"Alright," Ayato sighed, standing up and glancing sheepishly at the puddle of puke on the floor, "uh... is somebody gonna clean that up?"

"Don't worry about it."

...

Uta helped Ayato struggle back to the therapy room, and eventually they were seated again, this time Uta in the middle.

"Okay, Ayato, are you ready to explain why you're here yet?" Yomo asked expectantly.

Ayato took a deep breath, "I think so," he briefly glanced at Uta who nodded at him before looking the floor. "Uh, my twin sister, Touka sent me here." he struggled to speak after that.

"Why?" Yomo questioned again, "What made her send you here?"

"Um, I... Apparently I have a problem with, uh... well, about 3 years ago, our dad passed away, along with mom in a car accident. Our uncle got legal custody over us, but, um... we uh, lived alone. We we're only 14 at the time, but social services didn't do anything. We had to move schools, start work, and I started to, um, well..." he paused, a quiet sob escaping his throat as a tear fell out of pure agony and desperation. Uta squeezed his hand lightly, and Juuzou watched intently, "... I uh, I started to drink... a lot. I don't know why. My friends were the same. We didn't care anymore. I felt like nothing... I..." More tears fell, "I just wanted to be dead. When I was about 15 I started smoking a lot too, maybe a couple of packs a day, I don't know. Everything got worse from there. Um, at first I- I just drank to stay happy, and Touka was only a bit worried. Then I found that I was addicted before I was 16, and I couldn't stop. I- I... I feel I can't stop," he sniffed, staring at his feet still. Tears filled his eyes more than before, "I miss dad, and mom. I've just been ruining Touka's life too. But... I can't stop."

"Thank you for sharing that with us" Yomo said unemotionally. Uta squeezed his had in reassurance once again, and smiled when he peeked up at him, Ayato then glanced at Juuzou, who was staring at his clothed wrist, feeling sorry for everything.

...

"Ayato!" Touka exclaimed when he walked out of the group therapy room. He smiled at her, then accepted the hug she offered, "you okay?"

"Yeh" he breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

"Woah, why are you thanking me?"

"I can do this."

Touka hugged him tighter, then winked at Near. He looked happy; glad like she was. She mouthed a 'thank you' to him, and he gave a slight smile in response.

"So," Touka said, sitting on the bench outside next to him, "What we the other members like?"

Ayato rummaged through his trouser pocket, fishing his box of cigarettes out, "Well," he replied, lighting up and taking in the much needed nicotine. He breathed out the smoke, his headache minimising, "Juuzou is weird. He self harms a shit ton and apparently doesn't need help. Uta is an ex druggie who was helpful to me when I uh..."

"What did you do?"

"... Puked all over the bathroom floor."

"Again?"

"Yup." he sighed, smoke trailing from pursed lips, "Nishiki can move back in if he wants."

"Thank you. So withdrawal is gonna last a while?"

"Yeh... I guess." he replied, looking at the ground, "I just gotta try not to relapse, which is gonna be hard, since all I wonna do right now is get pissed... But... I can do this."

Touka smiled, then looked up at Near who was leaving, a white rucksack flung loosely over his shoulder. "Bye Near, see you at school."

He waved goodbye, the turned off down the street to go home.

Ayato had got help, and he was going to get better. Touka was happy.

...

Near fumbled with his keys as he opened the front door. It was dinner time at the orphanage, so everything was empty.

Without thinking, Near trailed up the stairs to his and Matt's shared room. He heard a voice coming from the room, and froze when it became clearer.

 _"Ngh... uhh... Matt... h-harder"_

What the fuck? Was Matt getting laid?

It hit Near like a rock when he realised whose voice that was.

It was Mello.


	5. Chapter 5

**_(A/N: I finally did chapter 5! I know I had half of this done a week ago, but I was seriously struggling to find a plot. Eventually, I decided to make this into a comedy chapter, and the storyline for most of this will probably only be referenced in the future, not continued. The story at the end of this one will last another 2-3 chapters, a little bit like the Ayato storyline. Also, it will be very dark. Finally, I go back to school in a couple of days, but I promise I wont abandon this._**

 ** _This chapter contains implied sex and drug use._**

 ** _Please rate & review, I won't update unless I know people are reading._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Five~**

 _Mello_.

What on earth were they doing in there?

Without thinking too much about the torment to come, Near silently turned the handle and the door clicked open. Ensuring to keep quiet, he stepped into the room. It was dark in there.

Now that he was closer, the noises of Matt and Mello's 'activities' became clearer. The bed frame was shaking, and he could hear their voices now.

Instead of walking out and leaving them be, or speaking up like a nosy brat, Near decided to just stand there. Awkwardly.

 _"Ugh... nghhh Matt... I- I'm so close"_

Five minutes later and the two still hadn't noticed Near standing there. Even when they had finished, and were lying next to each other, they still didn't see him.

Eventually, Near decided to speak up, "Uhh, Matt? Mello? What are you doing?"

The two startled, jolting up in the bed and blushing.

"Uh... Well..." Matt stuttered, "H-how much o-of that did y-you actually... Um... s-see?"

Near blankly looked down at his watch. Strangely enough, he was quite unfazed by what he'd seen, "About ten minutes."

"So hang on" Mello shook his head in confusion and annoyance, "You stood there for ten minutes watching your brother and his best friend fuck, and didn't bother to say anything?"

"Talk about putting it bluntly" Matt murmured, lighting a cigarette.

"Well... I guess if you put it like that... Yeh." Near replied unemotionally.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Mello yelled, pulling his trousers and shirt back on. He'd never liked Near. Probably because his grades were much better, and he was second ranked in the school, losing to Lawliet, and pushing Mello down to third.

"Nothing that I'm aware of."

"You truly are one sick fuck, you know that Near?"

"If that is your opinion I respect that" Near smirked inwardly, knowing he was annoying Mello, "But anyway, as Matt's brother, I do have to ask: what the hell was I just seeing?"

"Us fuck" Mello replied, shamelessly once again. He leaned over and flicked the lamp on, enlightening to room to reveal Near's now truly disgusted face.

"No..." Near waved him off, "I mean... Is there anything, y'know, going on between the two of you?"

"No" Matt replied, "No, seriously... It's just, I dunno. Friends with benefits?"

"I prefer the term 'Fuck Buddies' but whatever floats you boat babe" Mello smirked. Now he was getting back at Near, by making him extremely uncomfortable.

Near cringed. He had to leave. Before he could leave the room and take a break from the orphanage, Mello's wrist grabbed his own.

"If you speak a word of this to anyone I will personally tie you to the bed on which we just fucked and castrate you with a fucking butter knife," Mello growled, making quite the threat, "So keep that bratty little sheep mouth of yours shut."

Swallowing nervously, the younger left the room, taking the phone from his pocket and dialling Lawliet's number.

"Hey, L, can I ask a favour of you?"

 _"Hey Near. Sure, what's up?"_

"Well, uh, I'll tell you when I see you. But stuff happened in me and Matt's room tonight and I don't really wonna stay there tonight."

 _"Okay. I've got Hide and Kaneki over at my house at the moment, can you tell them?"_

"They're both trust worthy I believe," Near pondered, "Are Beyond and Rize there? They can be quite the gossip."

 _"Nah, they're on a date. Come over when you need."_

"Thanks, I'll be there in a minute," And with that, Near flipped his phone shut and walked down the road of the orphanage, heading towards the rougher parts of town.

…

"Who was that?" Hide asked as Lawliet set his phone down, "Someone else coming over?"

"Yeh. Near said stuff happened and he needs to stay here with me and Hide." Lawliet answered, taking a slice from their pizza, "You cool with that Kaneki?"

"Uh, yeh. It's no problem" he smiled nervously, "Besides I'll have to get home soon, or other my uncle will be getting worried. Thanks for the dinner and film by the way, Hide."

"Hey! No problem buddy! Besides, it's easier now that Nishiki has moved out."

"So Ayato's really getting help finally?" Lawliet asked Hide, "I wasn't so sure when he went to therapy this morning."

"Wait," Kaneki interrupted before Hide could reply, "Ayato is Touka's twin that threatened me at school the other day, right?"

"Yup," Hide's smile faded, "Anyway, Touka said that he was ill at therapy. Right now she and Nishiki are basically being his punching bag. Apparently the withdrawal is pretty bad."

"Wow, I never knew he was in that deep." Lawliet wondered aloud, "He really drank that much?"

"Yeh, I guess so. He used to say he wouldn't drink before work, but every time she worked with him or saw him at work he was still out of it. And Touka is forcing him to cut back on smoking too."

Lawliet sighed, "I feel kinda back for both of them really. It wasn't entirely-" He was cut off by the door to his room being opened, "Oh, hey Near."

"Hello," Near said, exhausted, "Your dad told me to tell you that he's going out shopping."

"Yippee" The sarcasm in his voice was too clear, "Shopping with basically no money."

"You'll be fine" Near comforted.

"That's cheating" Lawliet laughed a bit at his own thoughts, "You work at a therapists. You spend your whole day saying that to people."

"Good point," Hide added, "So Near, what's going on with you and Matt?"

"Well…" he hesitated, "Firstly if I tell you guys, you can't tell either of them about it. The other threatened to kill me if I did."

"If they threatened you, it's obviously Mello then," Hide suggested, looking at Kaneki and then Lawliet, "I wonna know what it is now, so you guys better keep this a secret."

"Of course," Kaneki smiled weakly, and Lawliet nodded.

"Ok, well… um, how do it put this…" Near looked down, playing with a loose thread on the hem of his shirt, "When I got home from work, I went up to Matt and I's room… and basically heard Matt getting laid."

"AND IT WAS MELLO?!" Hide exclaimed in excitement.

"… yeh."

"Oh my god! I always thought they'd be a perfect couple!"

"Hide, let Near continue." Lawliet told the blonde, who pouted.

"Matt told me it was something along the lines of 'Friends with benefits', but Mello preferred the term 'Fuck buddies'…"

"OH MY GODD!" Hide was practically screaming, Lawliet seemed unfazed and Kaneki looked disgusted that Near had walked in on the two.

"Hide!" Lawliet scolded, "Stop fangirling!"

"Sorry sorry" the blonde then threw his hands up into a fake surrender, "It's just funny, but at the same time, it's so… _unnatural_. I mean they've been best friends for ages."

"Almost as unnatural as your hair colour," Near smirked at his comment.

"Hey! My hair is natural!"

"No its not" Lawliet stated, "You can see the brown roots."

"Unfair…" Hide pouted.

"Anyway," Near changed the subject, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Don't do anything," Lawliet told him, "No one but us knows, and no one else has to know. You can stay here with me and Hide tonight. But just make sure Matt knows when you come home from work."

"I guess you're right…" he replied, "Thanks."

"No problem." Lawliet received a text shortly after, and frowned at his phone, "Beyond needs a ride home… apparently Rize ditched him."

"Really?" Hide asked, confused and concerned, "That's unlike her."

"I dunno… You and Near gonna be okay on your own for a bit?" they nodded back, "Kaneki, you want a ride home? It's on the way to the park. Plus it's dark now."

"Thanks Lawliet, I'd appreciate that." Kaneki answered back, then stood up and followed Lawliet out of the door.

…..

Once Lawliet arrived at the park, he spotted Beyond sitting still on one of the swings, legs crossed and head facing the floor. He was dressed in all black, including his hood covering most of his face. Only Lawliet would know who it was.

"Beyond?" he called out to him, and then walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Only then did he noticed the shakes and sobbing. "You okay? What happened?"

"Nothing" Beyond replied shakily.

"Don't give me that crap, Rize wouldn't walk out on you like that." Lawliet said sternly, "What happened?"

"I told you, it doesn't matter! Now just take me home." He stood up and never once looked his twin in the eyes.

"Why do you need to go home straight away?"

"I just do!" Beyond shouted, shaking even more now, "Just, please."

"No." he scoffed, "Tell me what's going on. You've been out of character the past 6 months. What is happening here?"

"I-I- I don't want to explain it to anyone else…"

"You told Rize? Is that was made her run off?"

"So what if it is?" Beyond yelled back, and made contact with his twin's eyes finally, "Why does it matter?"

"Your eyes…" Lawliet gasped, lifting the other's head up to level with his. "What are you on? Why are your eyes so dilated?"

"Just fuck off!" he screamed to him, swiping his hand away. "It doesn't matter… nothing matters… I- I don't want to lose you too."


	6. Chapter 6

**_(A/N: I wrote this 3 days ago. I am being really shitty with giving you updates, but my laptop broke and I had to refresh it and ughhhhh im doing my GCSEs now too and I pfft. I'll try to update regularly. But my updates will range anything from 1k-3k words. I know, i'm inconsistent. Sorry bout that. Enough with my rambling, please enjoy!_**

 ** _Please remember to follow and review, I won't update unless i know someone's following._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the chracters)_**

 **~Chapter Six~**

 _"_ _Just fuck off!" he screamed to him, swiping his hand away. "It doesn't matter… nothing matters… I- I don't want to lose you too."_

"Lose me?" Lawliet asked, "… Did you tell Rize?"

Beyond refused to answer, and just stared at the ground where his tears were beginning to form puddles.

"Did you tell Rize?" he asked again, firmly, "Does she know?"

He remained silent.

"Answer me, Beyond!"

"Fine!" he finally shouted back, "YES! She knows."

"Did you tell her?"

"… sort of."

Lawliet was worried, confused and angry, all at the same time. However, if he wanted to get this information out of Beyond, he had to remain stoic, "What happened then?"

"Uh, well…" He hesitated at first; did he _really_ want to open up to his brother? What if he left him too? Maybe he could find an excuse… No, not possible. The truth was the only option. "We w-were here on a date a-and I hadn't… no I can't. Please don't make me explain this, I can't."

Lawliet realised that I must've been pretty bad if his twin had been reduced a crying mess, "Beyond. I need to know. I promise I won't judge. You know I won't."

"B-but I-I- I don't even know how to explain it."

"You want me to call Rize and ask her?" he smirked inwardly.

"Fine! Just… ugh, dick," the other muttered, and then sat back down on the swing. Lawliet joined him. "I r-realised that I hadn't… I- uhm… I'd gone longer than usual… without, y'know, u-using. S-so, I discreetly asked her if we could go back to our place, b-but, she caught on. E-eventually I had to tell her. I- I thought t-that telling the truth would help… I- I love her. I didn't want to lose her. But when she found out… she ran off and told me that I deserved to be alone. I've lied to people. Everyone."

He was speechless. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but in the end went with the highest priority. "What are you using?"

"No please Lawliet" Beyond was shaking even more now, and sweat began to mix with tears on his pale face, "Just take me home okay? We can talk about this another time, just, please."

"No." He was being stubborn. He had no choice, "What are you taking? What is it that you're addicted to?!"

"H."

"What?"

"Heroin."

"No, it can't be. Are you really that stupid?" Lawliet was practically screaming in his face.

"See! Fuck you, this is precisely why I _didn't_ want to tell you."

"Yeh but seriously, I'd rather you were snorting cocaine or smoking meth. A-anything but heroin. I thought you knew how bad it was? You were there too when we watched Dad suffer, and then get addicted to fucking Methadone. I honestly didn't think you'd be that stupid, Beyond. I- I mean, how did this happen, how long?"

"I don't wonna talk about this now… j-just take me home now! I need to go home, FUCK." He shrieked, backing away from Lawliet.

"If you honestly think I'm gonna drive you home so that you shoot heroin into your veins then you're insane. You're my brother, I won't let you!"

"Fine, fucking fine!" Beyond was pacing, tears streaming onto the cold ground, "You want me to go through withdrawals, right here and now in this park? You want to hold my hair back as I throw up in that bush every ten minutes, bring me blankets and tissues and carry me to the bush so I can shit my fucking organs out?! You wonna do that right now?"

Lawliet had lost the use of words by now. Either Beyond would try to walk 40 minutes home, or make a run for it and buy heroin from some random dealer. He had to use. Whatever he tried, Beyond would end up using.

"Okay" sighed Lawliet in defeat, "I-I'll take you home."

"Thank you."

…

The drive home was relatively short, during which Beyond had curled up on the seat in his hoodie, arms folded and shaking. Every few seconds of driving, Lawliet couldn't help but look over at his brother. Everything was so overwhelming; how were you _supposed_ to react to hearing your twin was hooked on heroin?

"You see," Lawliet said softly as they drove up to the house, "This is what it does to you."

"Shut up" Beyond rasped, breathing heavy and getting out of the car, and then running off to the front door. Distantly, he felt a hand on his wrist, pulling him back. It was his twin.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Tch," he scoffed, violent pulling his wrist away and opening the door. Before darting up the stairs to his room, Beyond turned around to Lawliet, but refused to meet his eyes, "J-just… just d-don't come in, okay? I-it might upset you…"

"O-okay," he replied sadly, slowly traipsing upstairs back to his own room. Just when he was about to drop down onto the bed and probably cry himself to sleep, he remember that Hide and Near were both in there. Swallowing nervously and putting his happy façade back in action, he opened the door and sat back down next to them.

"Hey! Welcome back!" Hide welcomed Lawliet, passing him a drink.

"Sooo…" Even Near was curious, "What happened?"

Lawliet paused; a deep despair and feeling of dread filled him. Soon after, images of Beyond sitting in his room at that very moment, tourniquet fastened around his arm and cooking heroin. _I- I have to stop him…_ he thought, _no, I can't, h-he's right, it would upset me. I'll just have to make something up._

"Lawliet?" Hide asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hmm, oh! Right!" Lawliet snapped out of his trance. "Umm, they just had an argument about something… she ran off."

"What was it about?"

"He didn't say" he replied, knowing it wasn't possible to think of a suitable and believable story on the spot.

…

"Bye Lawliet!" Hide called, waving and him and Near walked off down the street, "Hope Beyond is okay!"

"Yeah…" _No, of course not, because he's addicted to the worst drug in existence and I'm letting him do it._

"And don't forget the paper due tomorrow." Near reminded him, half-jogging forward to catch up with Hide.

With a heavy headache setting in, Lawliet walked back into his house and up to Beyond's room. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door, yet entered himself before getting a reply. Shutting his eyes at first in an attempt to avoid watching anything he didn't want to see, he stepped into the room to find Beyond stretched out on his bed playing video games. He was only wearing an unzipped hoodie and boxers.

"Couldn't've put on some clothes yet?" He looked down at his watch, "It's almost midday…"

"Yeahhh… but it's Sunday" Beyond replied lazily, never once moving his focus from his game.

"Beyond," Lawliet sighed, sitting down on the bed next to him and switching the TV off.

"HEY!" He pouted, "I was just about to win that!"

"We need to talk about this. You said you would when you're feeling better."

"Ughh," Beyond groaned, sitting up, "Fire away with your interrogation, just don't force me into detox."

Lawliet thought to himself for a bit, "How often?"

"Oh fuck this," he complained, "… uh I dunno, when I need to? Maybe a… uh- 2 or 3 times a day? I don't count."

"Fine. How long?"

"Hmm. Frequently? I think about 18 months, maybe two years."

Lawliet gasped inwardly. Two years? Two _years?_ His twin had been an addict since 14. He gulped. " _What?"_


	7. Chapter 7

**_(A/N: I seem to be updating every Sunday now... Each chapter is getting shorter because I don't know why. My mind is on my GCSEs at the moment. Also, I'm going to start writing loads of Pandora Hearts one-shots because I lose motivation quickly with long running fanfics too quickly. But i promise to NEVER abandon this fanfic, even if I lose ideas and don't update in ages. Anyway, enjoy chapter 7!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters._**

 ** _Please remember to follow and review, I won't update if no one is reading.)_**

 **~Chapter Seven~**

Lawliet choked, "Two years?"

"I think so" Beyond replied casually, as if it meant nothing, "I haven't exactly been counting you know."

"B-but" he stuttered, struggle to find the words or the will to speak, "... Y-you... you would've been... 14..."

"Yeh. I was... now that I think about it."

"Why?" Lawliet asked sympathy, "What possessed you to start?"

"You should remember what happened two years ago, Lawli-pop"

"Y-yeh but... H-how does that link to you? You didn't watch her die... Y-you said you'd left the station before it happened..."

"No." he admitted, lowering his head in defeat, "When mom said she was leaving because of dad's drug addiction, I walked her to the station, she said I should come with her... I did... I-I didn't want to be around dad... I'm sorry... I tried to leave you..."

"It's ok, I understand" it really wasn't ok, but nevertheless, he needed this information. "Continue."

"That's when it happened. I was in the bathroom at the time... I just felt a massive crash... But I didn't get hurt... I-it's a miracle I'm not dead... I-I wish I was."

"Never say that, Beyond."

"It was true." He murmured back, a single tear escaping his eye, "But anyway. I didn't want to be interviewed and shit... So I left. The train had barely left the station, as you know... I just ran. I ran into an alley and cried. This guy came up to me... Asking if I wanted to take away the pain... obviously I knew what he meant."

"And you said yes...?" Lawliet guessed, already struggling to understand what happened that day. His twin was in that crash?

"Of course I said yes. I didn't want to be thinking about what happened. I never wanted to remember it." He paused, "... I didn't intend on getting addicted... But cravings just kept creeping up on me until I realised I was trapped."

Lawliet had to shake his head in confusion in order to get around everything he was being told. It was all too sudden. He felt a migraine evolving. "Why have I only noticed a difference in the past six months? What has no one ever suspected?"

"I'm crafty," Beyond smirked, "Look, you're used to junkies being like dad was. I didn't take as much for the first year or so. But, after a certain amount of time, that's not enough. I had to raise my dosage."

"What?" he scoffed, "To get a better high? To help you forget more?"

"No. To feel normal."

"By shooting H through your veins?" he asked, trying to make it seem like it was okay. And that he'd forgiven him. But in all honestly, he was angry. Beyond had to detox, before he outted himself.

"Yes."

What more was there to say? He knew everything he needed to know. Obviously, there was more he wanted to know, but asking the other those things would be too harsh. Right now, Lawliet needed to be alone, and to talk to Rize.

"How much does Rize know?"

Beyond sighed, "She knows I'm addicted to heroin, and that it was because of our mother's death… but other than that, she doesn't know much." He paused, "Please don't speak to her about it… I-I need to fix that on my own."

"On one condition," Lawliet grinned inwardly; he had his brother right where he needed to.

"What," he grunted, leaning back and staring blankly at the ceiling.

"You detox yourself."

Beyond shot up, his hand clutching the sudden headache which had just evolved. He shook slightly, a sudden craving filling him despite it only being a few hours since he last used. "No." He snapped back, a shiver taking over him, "No fucking way Lawliet."

"Why not? You really want to keep doing this?" Lawliet placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder, feeling him shake in his hold, "Even I can tell you need to use right now. And I'm not telling you to detox right now. I'll leave you soon. Just. Please. Promise me you'll do it eventually."

"Fine!" he yelled back, yanking Lawliet's hand off him, "Fucking fine! I'll do it," Shakily, he stood up and walked over to the window, opening it and leaning on the window pane. He took a deep breath, staring out into the street, "Can you leave me now?"

"O-ok." Lawliet hesitated before being ushered out the door by Beyond.

Not one bit of him believed he would actually do it.

…..

A week had passed since Beyond and Rize had had their argument and Lawliet had found out about his brother's little 'habit', and he showed no signs of sobering up.

"What happened to Rize and Beyond? Rize doesn't seem to be sitting with us anymore, and Beyond won't speak to anyone other than Lawliet." Touka asked, sitting down with Nishiki next to Hide on the grass.

Hide took his headphones out and placed them around his neck, "They had some sort of argument last Saturday night. Lawliet never told me what it was about though."

"Must've been pretty bad if it broke the two up," Nishiki added, taking his phone out and opening Twitter, "Now at least we don't have to watch them make out whilst we try to eat. Even Beyond isn't here today."

"That's mean." Brushing her bangs behind her ear, Touka took her lunch out and began reading over her literature notes, "They weren't that bad."

"Welllll…"

"Shut up, Hide." She snapped at the blonde.

"And you call me mean…" Nishiki muttered under his breath. "Oh look Touka, Ayato's coming over with his new friend."

"He's been better now he's sober." Touka admitted, "I mean, he's still a bit bitter since his cravings still haven't quite gone, but at least he's got a good new friend."

"Who is also a bit fucked up in the head…" he smirked and she pouted, "Oh come on! They met at group therapy."

"Yes, but because of Ayato, Juuzou's finally been allowed to join the school."

"Oh so _that's_ where Juuzou came from!" Hide exclaimed, "He just turned up in all of my classes."

"Ahh, Shitty Nishiki." Ayato smirked, squatting down next to them with Juuzou.

"Hey!" Touka complained, "I think you'll find that's my name for him!"

"Well then, I'll just pretend that I'm not here." Nishiki continued looking down at his phone.

"So what are you doing here?" Hide asked Ayato, "Where's Light?"

"Those dipshits are gone." Ayato winked to Juuzou who laughed, "They won't be bothering you anymore."

Touka hesitated and laughed nervously, "Provided you haven't _killed_ them, thank you."

Hide asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"Just introducing Juuzou to you guys. He might get on with you."

"Okay" Hide smiled. He loved new people. "I'm Hide."

"What up Hide!" cheered Juuzou, waving and smiling 'innocently', "The name's Juuzou Suzuya!"

"Cool cool, great you're all friends," Touka said, looking up to Ayato, "I need you to do us a favour."

"Ugh, what." He moaned, standing up.

"Find Beyond for us," she asked him, "We're nosey and wonna know where he is."

"Fine." He sighed, "But only cause I have splitting head ache and I don't want to fight with you at the moment. Just let me go to the bathroom please."

"Text us when you find him." Nishiki called after the two of them.

Once Ayato and Juuzou had reached the school halls, Juuzou turned to Ayato and asked, "Hey, who's Beyond?"

"One of their shitty emo friends." He replied, grinning at his own comment.

The walk to the decent bathrooms at the high school was a couple of minutes. They arrived and opened the door, walking over to the urinals. Juuzou staring blankly at the mirror, absentmindedly playing with his stitches.

"You know," Ayato said, walking over to the sinks when he was done and staring deeply at his own reflection, "You should really stop doing that…"

Juuzou looked up, "Oh, the stitches?"

"Yeah."

"I will eventually." Juuzou smiled at him.

"Thank you," He then smirked, walking over to the cubicle door which was shut, "Who's in here?" he turned to Juuzou, "They've been in here since we got here."

Juuzou traipsed over to the door, kicking it open. Before Ayato could tell him off for doing that, they both gasped at who was in there.

Juuzou pointed at the person on the floor in shock, "F-found him…"


	8. Chapter 8

**_(A/N: I finally got writing again! The last few chapters have been a bit too short, so I made this one a bit longer for you. This is the last chapter to Lawliet and Beyond's storyline. I didn't go into too much detail with the withdrawal, purely because I don't know very much, sorry! But anyway, I had really bad writers block all week. The next chapter wont be part of anyone's story; it's a surprise! Also, I know withdrawal can be much worse than this, but please remember Beyond was only a proper addict for 18 months or so, and those were very small doses. Anyway, i'll shut up now._**

 ** _Remember to follow and review, I wont update unless I know people are interested!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Eight~**

Ayato could only stare; he'd completely lost all ability to speak. They were sent to find Beyond... and this is what they find?

Beyond was lying on the floor, one foot stretched out and one being held tightly to his stomach. His arms were sprawled out, a single sleeve rolled up. On the floor next to his unconscious body was an empty syringe. _Drugs...?_

After a minute or so of silence, Ayato walked away, running his fingers through his hair. He needed a smoke. Now. It didn't matter if he was trying to quit. Sheepishly and trying to be discreet, he took frequent shallow breaths, attempting to calm himself without nicotine. Ayato took a deep breath and continued pacing.

"Lemme guess, you need a cigarette?" Juuzou asked, making it out to be a lucky guess.

"Tch. Yes." he scoffed, walking over to the stall and picking up the empty needle, "But, if I can't get my nicotine fix, Beyond shouldn't be getting his fix of heroin in the school bathroom."

Juuzou nodded, hopping up onto the counter. After another minute of pacing anxiously, Ayato had gotten grip of his senses again and joined Juuzou. Once he was sitting, he pulled his phone out, dialling Touka's number.

...

"Sheesh," Touka told Nishiki, "I wonder what's taking them so long?"

"I know! There's only a few places Beyond would be." Nishiki replied, checking his phone for any messages from Ayato.

Lawliet say in the background, anxiously eavesdropping. He hoped Beyond was okay. Given the information he had just received, his twin was vulnerable.

"Oh! He's calling me!" Touka yelled out of excitement, accepting the call and putting the phone to her ear, "Okay now shut the fuck up everyone. Ayato? Hi! You found him?"

 _"Hm. Yeh. I-I guess you could say that."_

"What's up? Something happen?"

 _"Well, yeh. That's one way of putting it. Just, get to the guys toilets in the S block quickly, okay?"_

"Alright fine. Anything you need?"

 _"Yeh. Bring Lawliet."_ The call paused for a brief second, _"Oh! And get a cigarette and lighter off of Matt will ya?"_

"Uhh Ayato. I thought you were quitting."

 _"I was, just gradually, not cold turkey. Please? When you come here you'll get why I really need a smoke right now."_

"Pfft. Fine, we'll be there in a couple minutes." She cut off the call, then faces Matt, "Can I have a cigarette and lighter? Ayato's going mental."

Matt nodded and handed them to her, immediately focusing his attention back to his phone game.

"Why did he sound so worried?" Nishiki stood up, following Touka.

"I don't know!" she answered him, irritably, "Also, Lawliet... Ayato told me to bring you..."

Lawliet gulped; this couldn't be good.

The three of them eventually reached the toilets, pushing the door open to find Juuzou and Ayato sitting on the counter, both looking completely lost and drained. Touka walked over to Ayato, sticking the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it for him.

"Thanks," he murmured, taking a long drag and calming down. He indicated towards the stall which was half closed, "See for yourself what has me so fucked up."

Lawliet was the first one who got the hint of what was happening, and a huge sense of dread filled him. Shaking harshly, he stepped over to the stall, shutting his eyes as he opened it. Peeking out of one eye, he gasped immediately and crouched down next to him.

"Beyond? Beyond!" He cried, frantically shaking his shoulders, trying to get him to respond. He'd sensed pretty quickly what was happening. "Call an ambulance!"

"No." Ayato shot back, smoke pouring from his mouth and nose.

"Why the _fuck_ not?!" Lawliet shrieked back, clinging onto his brother.

"Because," he replied, dragging on his cigarette again, "You send him to hospital, they send him to rehab. Rehab is bullshit. They'll force him into detox."

"He needs to detox!" Lawliet cried.

"Yes," Ayato agreed, grinding the cigarette out on the counter and throwing it in the dustbin, "But not against his own will."

Lawliet sighed. He knew Ayato was right; he didn't want to force his brother to do anything which involved him being mixed with a load of drug addicts. That would just be a trigger.

But then again, he _was_ a drug addict too.

"Look," Ayato continued, "His pulse is still steady. He won't die."

"Is this the stuff that Uta told us?" Juuzou questioned, crossing his legs on the counter. They could be here a while.

"Yup," he confirmed, walking over to Lawliet and Beyond. He held Beyond's wrist, pressing down on the veins with two fingers, "He's still steady. The drugs just knocked him out," He examined the syringe which was still left on the floor, focusing on the around the glass, "He didn't take enough to kill himself anyway."

"T-thank you," Lawliet stuttered. Mentally, he was so proud of Touka. She'd managed to help him become a better person.

Ayato nodded, "Come on Juuzou, this isn't really our business." The two walked out, leaving Touka and Nishiki standing pointlessly.

"When will he wake up?" Touka said, pulling her phone out, "Lessons are only a couple of minutes."

"We should leave…" Nishiki reluctantly pointed out. He was like Touka; this was good gossip.

Touka frowned at him, but eventually came around and left. Lawliet was now left alone, clinging onto his brother's life. He should be waking up soon.

"Beyond?" he whispered, a single tear streaming down his face, "B, can you hear me?"

Just a few seconds after he'd said that, the school bell rang. Beyond's eyes fluttered slightly, and he stirred around in Lawliet's arms.

"Beyond? Beyond! Are you with me?"

He continued to squirm around, and then eventually, one of his eyes blinked briefly, staring up at his twin. Instantly he shut them. He didn't want to see Lawliet's face. Beyond knew completely what had happened after only a few seconds of coming to.

"Yeh," Beyond rasped out, pressing his palms into his eye sockets as he sat up against the stall wall, "Barely, but… I'm with ya…"

Lawliet sighed deeply in relief. However, despite everything Ayato had told him, anger within him was still bubbling up. "What happened?"

Beyond chuckled slightly, struggling to stay serious, "Well, I'd say that's pretty obvious, hehe."

"I want to hear it from you, Beyond"

"Fine." He replied. Since Lawliet already knew everything, he had nothing to lose. "Well, I woke up late this morning and had to hurry off to school. I, uh, well… I usually use in the morning, but instead I threw the needle and shit in my bag. I planned on doing it at break, but I got held behind in Statistics. So halfway through biology in fourth period, I asked to go to the bathroom as I was kinda dying there, hehe… but yeh, I don't really know what happened. It had been nearly 12 hours, so I accidently took a bit much."

That was enough, "Okay, look, I don't want to have to force you to do anything. It's your life. But think about it; your grades are slipping, and you passed out in the toilets because you couldn't control your own addiction! You're being stupid. _I'm_ being stupid! I've been far too lenient at this point. I'm not letting you do this anymore Beyond, seriously, I can't fucking let you keep going, scared to walk into your room in fear that I'll see you getting your fix! We both watched Dad try and get over this, and have it ruin his life, and you want to do the same?!" Lawliet was practically screaming at this point, and he still hasn't finished, "You're detoxing right now. I'll sneak you out of school if I have to! But you're never, _ever_ going to take any more heroin as long as you're still my brother!"

Beyond looked terrified; he wanted to cry, but his whole body had frozen completely, eyes stuck widened at Lawliet's outburst. "B-but," he pouted, edging away, "Q-quitting cold turkey i-is gonna be, ARGH!" Beyond smashed his fists in the against the stall door, "Can't you just let me do this?!"

"No!" Lawliet stood up and smashed Beyond against the back of the wall, pinning his wrists above his head, "You're going sober, or living on the streets."

"C-can't I just quit g-gradually?" Beyond suggesting, doing his utmost to get out of going cold turkey.

"Did you not fucking hear what I said?! _Never_ again!"

"I- I know but-"

"No buts!" Lawliet yelled in his face, "You detox NOW!"

Tears began flowing like a river down Beyond's face, a stream depicting agony and desperation. He didn't want to do this. "A-alright."

Lawliet was breathing heavily; he hated having to do that. "Let's go home."

…

Once they arrived home, Beyond tried to escape to the solitude of his own room, but Lawliet grabbed his wrist, "I check your room first, got it?"

"Have fun," he frowned, "Look, I'm being 100 % honest here, that was my last bit. I was going to buy more after school today. There's nothing in this house right now."

"Sorry, but…" Lawliet paused, shrugging and turning on his heel to go up the stairs, "I don't trust junkies."

"Tsk," Beyond scoffed. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a point.

Five minutes later, Lawliet called for Beyond from the top of the stairs. Beyond followed silently, walking into his room behind Lawliet.

"Now," Lawliet started, "… You weren't lying, so I guess that means you'll be detoxing in here."

"Whatever," he groaned, "I already hate this."

"Beyond," he replied seriously, "You _need_ to do this."

"Fine" Beyond complained once again, collapsing onto his bed, "You're clearly not very ready for this, Lawli-pop."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Haha!" he laughed, "Aw, poor Lawli-pop has no _clue_ what he's in for… Where's the cool towels, the mountain of blankets, the bucket which I'll be filling up with puke?"

Lawliet gulped, "Oh, well, um… I will get those when you need them. But, whatever happens, I'll always be here with you."

"You're gonna regret saying that in a few hours…"

…

It had been 8 hours now since Beyond last used. Mental cravings were already kicking in. Lawliet had told their dad everything when he returned home from work. Despite being angry at first, he understood. It would have been a bit hypocritical if he insulted him too much, after all.

"Fuck this shit, I hate this so fucking much." Beyond was pacing back and forth.

Lawliet sighed for the fifth time that minute, "Beyond, just please, lay down and try to relax. No one said this would be easy."

"I'm not gonna just _calm down!_ " he yelled back, sitting on the bed and watching his fingers twitch, "FUCK!"

Rolling his eyes, Lawliet got up and sat next to Beyond on his bed. This was going to be a long night…

…..

 ** _Hour 3_**

Beyond had finally fallen asleep. Lawliet sat next to him, keeping his promise of staying by his side. He could see sweat pouring down his face, his whole body shaking in his sleep.

Unfortunately, just as Lawliet was just about to drift off into a light sleep, he turned to see Beyond sitting up, his entire body violently convulsing. He had his blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders as he shivered. He was fully awake at this point.

"What's up?" he asked him, standing and sitting on the bed next to him. Lawliet placed a hand on his back.

Beyond grimaced, "Ugh…" His mouth hung open, and he was hunched over completely. A third wave of nausea overcame him, and he gagged. Placing a hand over his mouth, he looked desperately over at Lawliet, "… b-bucket… now!"

"O-oh right!" Lawliet scanned the room for the bucket he'd placed up there. Quickly, he grabbed it from the foot of his bed and passed it to Beyond. The second he gripped the rim of the bucket, he wretched, emptying the contents of his stomach. Lawliet brushed his bangs off of his face, rubbing soft circles on his back. Once he was reduced to painful dry heaving, Lawliet retrieved a wet cloth and held it to his forehead.

"Thank you," Beyond breathed out, almost inaudibly, "Urgh, I feel like complete shit."

 ** _Hour 7_**

"What's worst?" Lawliet asked, wrapping yet another blanket around him as he noticed the shivering had increased once again.

"E-everything, b-b-but… ARGHH!" he screamed in pain, doubling over on holding his stomach, "… c-ra… cr-cramps…"

Lawliet struggled to understand how to help him. He had spent the last four hours vomiting non-stop and shaking so much that it could cause an earthquake. "You think you can eat?"

"Not unless you want it in that bucket with the rest of this week's meals, then no!"

Lawliet could just about deal with his sarcasm.

 ** _Hour 13_**

Lawliet had had to call the school in and tell the admin that they both had food poisoning. He was just about to prepare breakfast for himself when he heard a pained wailing.

"LAWLIETTTTT!"

"Ugh" he groaned, holding his fully developed migraine. Beyond still had cramps, and had been shitting his organs out all morning, "What now?!"

"I'm cold!"

"Uhhh" Lawliet moaned, traipsing up the stairs with about 10 blankets. He was working on 0 hours of sleep here, "Coming!"

When he arrived in the bedroom, he found that Beyond had been sick again, but had slightly missed the buckets. He sighed inwardly; he'd have to clean that up.

"You need to clean."

"No" he replied stubbornly, "I'm not getting out from under these blankets."

"Come on…" Lawliet tried to persuade him, "It _stinks_ in here!"

"NO!"

…..

 ** _Hour 24_**

The last 11 hours had been peaceful for Lawliet, and he had finally managed to get some sleep. Their father had returned home and was the one who took care of Beyond and catered to all his needs. Most of the physical cravings had passed now, and Beyond was completely passed out.

"Finally…" Lawliet whispered, walking out of Beyond's room. "Hehe, I guess I was wrong then," he said to himself, "He did detox, after all."


	9. Chapter 9

**_(A/N: NEW CHAPTER FORMAT! This is in the form of a group chat. Everything in this fanfic has been so serious lately, and confusing. So, to sum up and have fun with it, I made the group chat. You should be able to figure when it's happening. Most of their names stayed the same in the contacts, but a couple changed (they should be obvious). This was really fun to write, but the next chapter will be back to depressing stuff, sadly. This doesn't have much of a plot; it just kinda revolves around everything that's been happening, and showing you how close they are as friends. The group chat name is the same as me and my weird friends, and the chat is pretty similar to that tbh. Anyway, i'll shut up now._**

 ** _Please remember to follow and review. I'd also love to know what you think of this new group chat idea and if you'd like more of them._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Nine~**

Theeee Weirdest People | _Group chat members: L, BB, Touka, Nishio, Hideee, RizeK, Matt, Mello, Near, Kaneki, Ayato_

 _Hideee joined the chat_

Hideee: hey guyz

 _Touka joined the chat_

 _Nishio joined the chat_

 _Ayato joined the chat_

Touka: what up

Hideee: I'm lonely

Nishio: poor u

Ayato: Y do u spell you're name so weirdly?

Nishio: me?

Ayato: No, Hideeeeeeeeeee

Hideee: bc it's fun

Ayato: More like gay

Touka: Ayato, compose yourself jeez

Ayato: I have all the fucking etiquette I need sis

Touka: no you don't

Nishio: great, now theyre arguing out loud

Hideee: ur all in the same place?

Nishio: unfortunately yes. We're all in Touka's lounge

 _Near joined the chat_

Hideee: hi nate

Near: Must you insist on addressing me by my real name?

Hideee: yup

Near: :o

Touka: hey near

Ayato: Look at me when we're arguing bruh, not down at ur phone

Touka: im not your brother

Nishio: guys stfu

Ayato: Stay outta this ginger

Nishio: …

Hideee: Ayato that's rude

Ayato: Go get me a beer then

Near: I was under the impression that you were going sober?

Touka: He is

Ayato: Or a cigarette

Hideee: isn't he quitting smoking too?

Touka: yes, he IS

Ayato: Fuck it

 _Ayato left the chat_

Hideee: where he go

Touka: outside to smoke

Nishio: she tried to stop him

Hideee: isnt it raining?

Touka: yup

Hideee: :o

Near: Don't steal my text face; I copyrighted it

Nishio: since when can you copyright a face?

Near: Ever since I did

Hideee: anyway… wheres mello and matt?

Nishio: probs butt fucking

Touka: Nishiki!

Near: No, he's right. That's what they're doing

Touka: how do u know?

Near: … I can hear them

Nishio: well isn't that lovely

Near: It's not lovely at all

Nishio: I was being sarcastic yknow

Near: Well I'm sorry, it's difficult to recognise expression over social media.

Hideee: loosen up nate

Near: That won't be possible until you stop calling me 'Nate'

Nishio: give him a break, he's listening to mello and matt fuck

Touka: u are so crude

Nishio: look who's talking

Hideee: HEYY STFU

Touka: brace yourselves

Hideee: y?

Touka: Ayato's back

 _Ayato joined the chat_

Ayato: Sup fuckerz

Hideee: how pleasant

Near: Where did you go?

Ayato: Outside in the fucking rain

Hideee: y?

Ayato: I needed a smoke

Touka: yeh and u stink now

Nishio: get wrecked

Ayato: Fuck u

 _Kaneki joined the chat_

Hideee: KANEKI!

Kaneki: Hi

Touka: sup

Nishio: wuu2

Kaneki: What

Hideee: Kaneki doesn't understand text speak

Touka: wat the hell

Nishio: it means what r u up to

Kaneki: Oh. I was reading a book until my phone kinda got spammed

Hideee: sorry bout dat

Near: You all are illiterate. What book are you reading?

Kaneki: The Black Goat's Egg

Near: I read that a while ago, but I don't remember much about it

Hideee: NO NO NO NO NO we r not talking about books

Touka: seconded

Nishio: thirded

Near: Alright

Ayato: I feel left out :'(

Touka: no one cares

Ayato: And you say I've got no manners

Kaneki: Did we have any English homework?

Hideee: yeh, the comparison essay of Remains and War Photographer its due tomorrow

Kaneki: I did that last week

Touka: SHIT

Nishio: haha u forgot

Touka: yeh. I looked over all my notes and everything ugh

Ayato: Wait we had homework? :O

Hideee: since when was Ayato in our class?

Ayato: since always, dipshit. I just never show up. Im not gonna do the hwk either

Touka: I gotta go finish the essay now. Bye

 _Touka left the chat_

Nishio: and she's left the room

Near: Am I correct in thinking that leaves you and Ayato alone?

Nishio: yup…

Ayato: Buckle up butter cup ;)

Hideee: oh shit. I am scared for Nishiki's sake

Ayato: That's rude

Hideee: and true

 _L joined the chat_

L: alright, what's gone on while I was gone?

Hideee: I was lonely. Touka, Nishiki and Ayato joined me. Then Touka and Ayato were arguing, then Ayato left for a smoke, and then came back, then nate came then Kaneki. After that we were talking about the English essay and now toukas gone to do that

L: thanks for the update. I knew itd be hell without mommy Lawliet here

Nishio: mommy?

Hideee: MOMMMY! Ayato was being mean

Ayato: Fuck off Nishio

Kaneki: This is getting weird

Near: You can say that again

L: why am I friends with you guys?

Hideee: bc u loveeee us :3

L: …

Ayato: Hows Beyond?

Nishio: how is Ayato the only one who has enough courtesy to ask about BB?

L: he's doing okay I guess. Asleep at the moment actually, but he can keep food down now

Ayato: Things were pretty rough then?

L: yeh, I was like his maid

Nishio: what about Rize?

Hideee: she told me she'd spoken to him

L: yeh she called him during withdrawals. Between him throwing up a couple of times, they sorted things out

 _Touka joined the chat_

Touka: im back

Kaneki: Finished already?

Touka: well I only had 2 more paragraphs to go, so yeh

Nishio: impressive

Ayato: I didn't want you back… and I want another smoke

Touka: you dare and I'll lock you in the house

Ayato: Damn u

Nishio: this is hilarious for me

L: even in the same room?

Nishio: yup. Coz none of this is happening out loud, just smirking or glaring across the room at each other

Hideee: and nate can hear mello and matt bum each other

L: nate?

Near: That's me. My real name is Nate River

L: since when?

Near: … since I was born. I don't understand why I have to keep telling you this.

 _RizeK joined the chat_

RizeK: heyyyyy :3

Ayato: Sup

Touka: u stole my opening line

Ayato: Oh no. How tragic

RizeK: hows BB?

L: asleep at the moment but he'll be fine

RizeK: cool :P

Near: I need to go now. I think Mello and Matt are finished now too. Bye

L: bye

 _Near left the chat_

Hideee: who's left?

Touka: me

Ayato: Me

Nishio: me

L: me

Kaneki: Me

RizeK: meeeeee

Hideee: Nice

Ayato: Well that was pointless

Hideee: ur such a kill joy Ayato

Ayato: im not emo, no, but MCR do make pretty good music

RizeK: YESSSS MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE ALL THE WAYYY!

L: oh god. Not that band

Ayato: Theyre good!

RizeK: don't insult my Gerard!

Touka: not when you have them playing 24/7

Hideee: OH MY GODD THE PUNS!

Kaneki: What is even happening?

Nishio: who knows

Kaneki: Well, my Uncle will come and check on me soon, so I need to leave now

Hideee: NOOO DON'T LEAVE!

Ayato: How come ur uncle sends you to bed this early?

Touka: for once I agree with him

Kaneki: … It's 23:26 … that's pretty late

L: he's got a point. I should be heading to sleep now.

RizeK: whyyyy?

L: im running on virtually no sleep here. Bye guys

Kaneki: Bye, see you tomorrow

 _L left the chat_

 _Kaneki left the chat_

Hideee: awww

RizeK: u got me! :3

Touka: oh yippee

Nishio: im tired now

Touka: same

Hideee: ur leaving me too?

Touka: yup

Nishio: bye

 _Nishio left the chat_

Hideee: ill be lonely again :'(

Touka: oh no what a shame. Ayato don't stay up too late

Ayato: No promises ;)

Touka: oh god. Just don't do anything stupid

Ayato: Whatever

Hideee: bye touka

 _Touka left the chat_

RizeK: PARTY TIME

Ayato: It's not party if I cant get pissed. Bye

RizeK: fair point

 _Ayato left the chat_

 _RizeK left the chat_

Hideee: dammit. bye then

 _Hideee left the chat_


	10. Chapter 10

_**(A/N: I am very sorry, but I had to cut this fanfic short... so this is the last chapter! I am not leaving , but I have sort of lost interest in writing this fic. It lasted 10 chapters, and I concluded it nicely I think. Sorry again, but hey, at least I didn't abandon it on you guys right? Anyway, thank you to all the people who followed this.**_

 _ **Please review on what you thought overall! I know that there were several people who were following this fic, and I would really appreciate it if you could review and tell me what you thought. Also, I would love to hear from my other readers too!**_

 _ **Thanks again to all my readers; I love you all!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Ten~**

"Hey guys!" Hide said, walking over and sitting down by his friends, "You ready for the exams next week?"

"Well, considering I'm the smartest pupil in the year; yes. I am ready." Lawliet answered, trying not to sound too smug.

"Don't show off…" Touka muttered.

"Yeh, not all of us are going to do well." Nishiki told them.

"What about Beyond?" Hide asked Lawliet, "How's he gonna cope in the final exams?"

"He should be back to school by Friday, hopefully tomorrow," he replied, "He better do well; he is ranked number 4 after all."

"What, there's ranks here?" Kaneki asked, bewildered. There was still so much he didn't know, "How many?"

"There's only a top 5," Nishiki informed him.

"Yeh," Touka added, "Lawliet's number 1!"

"Wow, impressive," said Kaneki, taking out his book, "Who are the rest?"

Touka looked it up on her phone, "Number 1: Lawliet. Number 2: Near. Number 3: Mello. Number 4: Beyond. Number 5: Light."

"Wait," Kaneki shook his head, "Isn't Light the one who threatened to beat me up the first day here?"

"Yeh, my old friend," Ayato joined in, taking on of his headphones out, "Despite being a complete dick, he's really smart. Before Near came, he was joint number one with Lawliet. But then when Near and Mello came, he was pushed down to 4th. Beyond took that place shortly after."

Hide was staring in awe at Ayato, "How the hell do you remember all of this?"

"It was only a year ago," Ayato reasoned, "Plus, I don't think I could forget his reaction even if I tried. He went mental."

"Oh right… okay," Kaneki replied nervously. He was smart too, but he feared what would happen if he took the top spot from Light. _Don't be stupid,_ he thought to himself, _there's no way you could be even be in the top 5._

"How much studying have you done then?" Hide asked them.

"None." Lawliet and Near replied simultaneously.

"Revision is pointless. If I was taught it, I will remember it. That is fact." Near told them.

"Not that you really need another ego boast…" Mello muttered from beside him.

"I don't think you can talk, Mello. You're only ranked number 3."

"Tch," he scoffed, "Shut the fuck up Near."

Hide turned to Touka, Nishiki, Ayato and Kaneki, "What about you guys?"

"I've done some…" Kaneki said, "But I missed the first part of the curriculum, so I've got a lot to learn, I guess."

"I've done… well, not much… but…" Touka tried to look innocent.

"Touka," Nishiki said to him, "You're a _terrible_ liar."

"As if you've done any either." Touka murmered, and then pointed to Ayato, "And he's not exactly gonna do any revision either."

"Hey!" Ayato tried to defend himself, "I might do some."

"You should," Touka told him, "You used to actually be quite smart."

"When was that? Three years ago?" He laughed sarcastically.

Touka frowned at him, "That's not even funny."

"Change of subject," Nishiki interjected, "We should throw a party on Friday."

"For what reason? We have nothing to celebrate," Lawliet asked bluntly.

"Yeh, but we could just, I dunno… loosen up or something?" Touka suggested, "We could throw it our house. I know it's small, but it would be easy enough to get some drinks or stuff."

Hide's face lit up, "I'm in! Sounds like a great idea! But how are we gonna buy booze? No one here is of age."

"Excuse me, I think that you're forgetting one tiny detail," Ayato pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeh!" Hide exclaimed.

"But I'm not buying you guys alcohol or anything." Ayato told them sternly, "Touka won't let me drink it."

"I will if I monitor you," Touka sighed.

Ayato thought about it for a second, "Nah. I don't want to relapse _just_ yet."

"Great," Nishiki said, holding his thumbs up, "Looks like we have a plan."

….

Friday night came, and Touka, Nishiki and Ayato were all setting up for the party.

"So," Touka said to Ayato, "Did you invite Juuzou?"

"Yeh," he replied, "I think he's coming, but I might have to meet him somewhere, since his sense of direction is terrible."

The room was filled with decorations, and the tables were piled with food on one side, and drinks on the other side. Ayato had eventually – and reluctantly – gone out and purchased Touka and Nishiki some drinks.

"Who's coming?" Nishiki asked them as he walked into the room, carrying a crate of even more drinks.

Touka counted on her fingers, "Lawliet, Beyond, Near, Mello, Matt, Juuzou, Rize and Hide… I think that's all."

"Cool."

"Wait," Ayato interrupted them, "Aren't Mello and Matt the one's butt-fucking?"

"Ayato, jeez!" Touka scolded him, "Keep your usual manner of speech on hold tonight."

"Why?" he defended, "It's not like you guys are much better."

"He's got a point, to be fair." Nishiki reasoned.

Shortly after, the doorbell rang. Both Touka and Nishiki raced over to the door to greet the first arrivals. As expected, the first 3 people to arrive were Lawliet, Hide and Kaneki.

"Hello," Lawliet greeted, "I know that it is the social convention to bring drinks to a party, but as Hide pointed our earlier in the week, we can't. So, we brought nothing."

"Ummm, okay then…" Hide muttered hesitantly, before resuming his usual demeanour, "So anyway, HI!"

"Good to see you being yourself, Hide," Touka laughed, and Nishiki let them all in.

"Kaneki, you okay?" Lawliet asked him, noticing how he looked so… afraid?

"oh, um…" he was snapped out of his trance, "Yeh, I'm fine… I guess… I-I just don't prefer big crowds."

Lawliet smiled sympathetically, "Well if you want we can always-"

"No, no. I'll stay."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Kaneki grinned slightly.

"Ok, well if you want to go home at any point we can."

"Thank you."

….

About 10 minutes later, another knock could be heard from the door, and Nishiki went to answer it. In a large group stood Mello, Matt, Near, Beyond and Rize.

"NISHIKIIII!" Rize screamed, throwing her arms around his neck, "HELLOO!"

Nishiki shot a questioning look at Beyond. In reply, he mouthed 'She's drunk already', at which Nishiki just nodded at.

"Where's Lawliet?" Near asked, not bothering to greet anyone else.

"Jeez, thanks for the greeting," Nishiki muttered under his breath, "They're all in the kitchen."

Near proceeded to where his friends were, leaving the rest at the door. Shortly after, Mello and Matt followed, heading to where the drinks were. After that, Beyond and Rize entered the main room.

"Hey, Beyond!" Hide called over to him, he and Ayato stepping towards him, "You feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you," Beyond replied quietly, facing the floor.

"Aw, don't feel bad," Ayato tried to comfort him, placing his had softly on his shoulder and Rize nuzzled her face into his next, "Everyone makes mistakes, right?"

"Y-yeh," Beyond stuttered, his head lulling onto Rize, "I guess we do."

"Good," Ayato smiled at him, "Withdrawal's a bitch."

"Hehe, couldn't agree more," Beyond laughed.

…..

An hour had passed since everyone arrived, and Ayato had left to find Juuzou (who had got lost). After another few minutes, Ayato returned, dragging a very bewildered Juuzou by the wrist.

"Noooo, Ayato!" Juuzou whined, yanking his wrist from his grip, "Don't touch my wrists!"

"Ugh. Seriously?" Ayato complained, stopping at the front door, "I thought you stopped doing that shit."

Juuzou watched as Ayato walked round to the front of the house, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He walked round, and sat down with him, "And I thought you'd stopped doing all _that_ shit."

"Yeah, well… this is a genuine addiction," Ayato scoffed, blowing out smoke.

"And what makes you think that self-harm isn't?" Juuzou asked him, tilting his head.

Ayato was stunned in silence for a few seconds. Finally, he regained himself and took a long drag of smoke, "I guess I never considered that…"

"Well, maybe you should," Juuzou said, turning his head to stare up at the stars, "I tried to stop."

"As long as you try…" he said, throwing the cigarette on the floor and grinding it in with his heel, "I'll try too."

….

Back inside, the party was in full swing. Everyone was drunk, expect for Kaneki, Juuzou and Ayato. Those three were completely sober. Everyone else, on the other hand, was completely out of it; even Near and Lawliet.

On one side of the room, Mello and Matt had completely given up on their 'secret', and were making out on the armchair. Across from them on the sofa was Near, Lawliet and Hide, all endlessly rambling on about god-knows-what. Beyond and Rize had retreated to an upstairs bedroom, and Touka and Nishiki were being strangely flirty in the corner of the room.

"I never thought we'd see them as the drunk ones…" Ayato smirked, and then placed his coke down before turning away, "I'm going to the bathroom."

The second Ayato was gone, Juuzou suddenly faced Kaneki. He stared for a while, observing the way Kaneki had been acting all night.

"Is there a particular reason that you've been staring at me?" Kaneki asked nervously. Had he done something wrong?

"I wouldn't called it _staring,_ " Juuzou reasoned, "More like _observing._ "

"Why?"

"Because you've been acting weirdly tonight. And I think I know why."

Kaneki gulped, "Huh?" _Had he really been that obvious?_

"You used to self-harm." Juuzou told him bluntly, more like an accusation than a suggestion, "And for whatever reason, you recently stopped. But you're struggling."

"Where did you get that from?" Kaneki asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Because I did the same thing myself a week ago. I gave up after 2 days. I couldn't do it. But Ayato wants me to, and I want to make him happy. I'll do it eventually."

He was speechless. Juuzou was getting to him. All of a sudden, he felt his face becoming warmer, and his chest tightened. It took a few seconds for his brain to process what was actually happening. Kaneki was crying.

"It's ok," said Juuzou nonchalantly, "You can stop at your own pace. Since I'm the only one who suspects, you're not being forced into anything. But you have friends who care about you."

"I-I know…" Kaneki whispered, wiping some of his tears away, "T-that's why I'm trying to stop…"

"And that's good." Juuzou smiled again at him. But this time, Kaneki felt something. He felt warm, and comfortable. Looking around the room at all his friends acting like complete idiots, he smiled to himself. He had found a purpose.

"T-thank you, Juuzou," he said, "You're a good person."

"You can believe that if you want," the other smirked, noticing Ayato coming back, "Hey Ayato!"

"Sup," he said, taking another sip from his drink, "Hang on."

Kaneki and Juuzou watched as Ayato walked over to where Lawliet was, tapping him on the shoulder and whispering something in his ear. Shortly after, Lawliet stood on the counters, tapping his glass with a spoon.

"Ahem," Lawliet cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention, "I would like to say some stuff."

"SPEEECHHH!" Hide hollered, jumping around as some of his drink spilled.

Lawliet smiled, looking at each and every one of his friend's faces, "The last few weeks have been pretty rough, for a lot of us. But, considering what we've all been through, I'd say we've done pretty well. Each and every one of you has the potential to do great in life. And whatever happens, and whatever you go through… we'll always be here for each other." He held his drink up, making a toast, "To us!"

The sound of drink glasses clinking filled the room.

Kaneki continued to stay in the corner, looking around at them all. It took him a little while to realise that he was smiling. And then it hit him: he was happy. These people had changed his life, and he'd never forget that. He raised his glass.

To a new life.

 _ **(P.S. If you like this kind of fic, I recently started a Pandora Hearts AU which takes place in this recovery centre, so check that out if you have the time. Thank you all very much :3)**_


End file.
